Wolrd Religion

Swedish artist who angered Muslims by depicting the prophet Mohammed as a dog was assaulted Tuesday as furious protesters interrupted his university lecture about the limits of free speech.

Vilks has faced numerous threats over his controversial drawing of Mohammed with a dog's body, but Tuesday's incident was the first physical assault directed against him.

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The French parliament unanimously approved a resolution that would declare the full facial veil known as a burqa as an affront to French values, paving the way for a full-fledged ban on the garment worn by a small minority of French Muslim women.

If the bill becomes law, France would be the second country in Europe after Belgium to prohibit the wearing of the full veil in public.

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The acts of abuse include violently throwing the children around by their arms and legs, leaving a child in an electric oven until his hair burned, placing a child in a suitcase for three days, feeding a child excrement and other extreme acts of abuse.

The cult leader's trial is still ongoing.

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Senator Nick Xenophon has vowed not to give up on his quest to bring the controversial Church of Scientology to task over tax exemptions.

Scientology had been variously accused of criminal behaviour, coercing abortions, stalking, transcending child labour laws and unconscionable treatment of members who were charged hundreds of thousands of dollars for their courses, he said.

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Blaine Milam, 20, is facing the death penalty for the December 2008 beating death of 13-month-old Amora Bain Carson.

Milam and his fiancee, Jessica Carson, are charged with beating the toddler 20 times with a hammer while allegedly attempting to perform an exorcism on the little girl.

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